In the construction of oil pipe lines, it is known to place the oil flow conducting pipe within an outer pipe casing and to electrically insulate the pipes from each other in order to reduce the power requirements when cathodic protection is applied to the pipe line to prevent corrosion. Numerous spacers and insulators have been designed to support the oil pipe within the outer casing including those disclosed in Bond U.S. Pat. No. Re. 23,545 and improvements thereto disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,706,496 and 2,750,963. These patents generally teach the use of elongate spacer elements constructed of a dielectric material such as Bakelite and which are positioned around the circumference of the oil pipe with their longitudinal axes being parallel to each other as well as to the longitudinal axis of the oil pipe. The spacer elements are secured to the oil pipe by a pair of metal rods or cables which pass through the spacer elements and which are adapted so that tension can be applied thereto to secure the elements to the oil pipe.
Also of interest, Grahame U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,449 discloses an improved oil pipe spacing device wherein the elongate spacer blocks are provided with laterally extending bases which are contiguous to one another. A plurality of the spacer blocks may be connected together with a single connecting cable since each spacer block is braced by the bases of the two contiguous blocks so as to resist twisting when a lateral force is applied thereto. Thus, only a single connecting cable is required in order to provide a stable plurality of elongate spacer bars or blocks around the circumference of the oil pipe.
Also of interest, a support and spacer device is manufactured by Cascade Company of Yorkville, Ill., for use in supporting pipes and the like within the encasement of a horizontal bore. The device is constructed of two semi-circular half sections which are bolted together at the opposing sides thereof. A pair of dielectric spacer bars are provided at the top and at the bottom of the device, but the distance between the two spacer blocks at the top and the two spacer blocks at the bottom of the device is substantially less than the distance between a corresponding top block and bottom block. Thus, one shortcoming of the device when secured to an underground pipe is that the vertical spacing of the pipe above the encasement will decrease if the support and spacing device is caused to rotate within the steel casing. Also, the complexity of securing the two half sections together with the requisite plurality of bolts required therefore renders the support and spacer device as a less than satisfactory device in many underground pipe and cable support applications.
Thus, although devices designed specifically for the support of underground oil pipes as well as devices designed more generally for the support and spacing of underground pipes or the like are known, applicant believes that all suffer deficiencies and shortcomings in use that have been overcome by the improved device of the present invention for underground support of water, sewer and gas pipes as well as electrical and phone conduits and the like.